The Godfather of Basketball

After coming back from the second quarter, Tang Tian made a targeted adjustment to the lineup after finishing the substitute period. He replaced Brown with Dior, which increased the flexibility on the field. Westbrook, who performed poorly, was also replaced by Harden in the second quarter. .

Ibaka's muscle-building effect is obvious, and Bogut is not an offensive insider, he guards the basket alone.

And the inside line formed by him and Diaw didn't suffer a lot in the matchup after the defense, and the Warriors' offense was quickly suppressed.

Durant continued to maintain fierce firepower on the offensive end, and no one in the Warriors could stop him.

The Thunder beat the Warriors 30 to 12 in the second quarter, and thus completely regained their momentum.

108 to 87, with Durant's season-high performance of 37 points in the game, the Thunder finally defeated the Warriors in the away game and won their 13th victory of the season.

In addition to Durant, Harden played 37 minutes off the bench, scored the second highest 22 points and 6 assists, and his performance was quite eye-catching.

Ibaka's outstanding performance of 10 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks shows that he is ready to meet the challenge of the center position.

It's just that Westbrook, in the first game of changing his style of play, was a bit inapplicable. After playing 25 minutes, he only scored 12 points and 3 assists on 4 of 15 shots, and as many as 4 turnovers.

This kind of performance naturally cannot escape the questioning of reporters after the game.

"Westbrook's playing time in this game is a season low. Does this mean that Harden will replace him as the team's new starter?"

"The combination of Kidd and Harden is obviously better. Will Westbrook play better with the second team?"

"From holding the ball to playing without the ball, Westbrook's role is obviously not good. Is the team ready to trade him away?"

...

"I have said countless times that Russell is one of the core of the team. We are trying to find his new position in the team. This will take a process, but the confidence of the coaching staff in him will never change." Tang Tian didn't answer too much.

After the press conference was over, Tang Tian and Stevens left the venue and prepared to go back to the hotel.

"Don, isn't this unfair to Russell, making him change the style of play he has insisted on for so many years?" Stevens couldn't help but ask after hearing the media's questions.

"Changing will cause pain, but if you don't change, the pain will be even greater. I believe he can do it." Tang Tian said affirmatively.

After hearing the story of Westbrook's past, he has a lot of confidence in Westbrook.

Stevens originally wanted to ask Westbrook to lead the second team, but seeing Tang Tian's confident expression, he didn't speak again.

The two walked across the aisle, ready to leave the arena.

But at this moment, they heard muffled noises coming from the playing field.

Generally, after the game is over, there is still a series of tasks such as cleaning up the scene and subsequent floor dismantling. This process will last for one or two hours.

But at this time, there is a strange sound of playing. After all, the players have left long ago, and the staff are generally not allowed to play there on match days.

The two walked out from the passage on the second floor, and they happened to be the auditorium on the second floor.

At this moment, they saw a figure running along the three-point line on the court to practice three-pointers.

The slightly stiff posture, the jersey that seemed to have been soaked in water, and the sweaty cheek.

It turned out to be Westbrook.

He didn't seem to go back to the locker room with his teammates after the game, but practiced directly in the away game.

At this time, Stevens picked up his watch and looked at it. It has been at least an hour and a half from the end of the game to the end of the press conference. It seems that Westbrook has practiced here for an extra hour and a half.

A smile appeared on the corner of Tang Tian's mouth when he saw this.

"I also believe it now." Stevens put down his hand and turned to Tang Tian.

The Thunder's game is still going on, and their performance is not much different from before.

Westbrook's progress and adaptability are much slower than expected, and his three-pointers are still unstable.

The outside world's evaluation of him is getting worse and worse.

"Look at Westbrook without the ball! He can't play anymore, and the stiff three-pointer is disgusting!"

"He is simply a third-rate point guard now, and it is the worst decision for the Thunder not to trade him!"

"Facts have proved that Erwin Johnson and Oscar Robertson are incompatible. Tang Tian's decision is really a failure!"

...

But no matter what the outside world thinks, the Thunder's coaching staff's positioning of Westbrook remains unchanged, and even his playing time is returning a little bit.

Tang Tian knows very well that change is a gradual accumulation process. Westbrook's talent determines that he will not change too quickly, but the continuous accumulation will definitely usher in an explosion at a certain moment.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it has come to Christmas in the new year.

The Thunder had another Christmas game the next day. Tang Tian gave the players a day off and asked them to go back early to celebrate the holiday with their families.

Tang Tian didn't spend Christmas in Oklahoma City this time, but went back to Cleveland with Hathaway and Swift.

The statues outside the Quicken Loans Arena were finally finished, and there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony before Christmas, so Tang Tian would naturally be there on such a day.

Because of this, they spent Christmas directly in Cleveland this time.

The current record of the Cavaliers is the same as that of the Heat, because the record of fighting is temporarily ranked second in the Eastern Conference.

While supporting the team, the fans also had more respect for Tang Tian. After all, the team's team was all created by Tang Tian.

Because of this, many fans came to the scene on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was successfully completed, and there was an endless stream of fans who came to take photos with the statue.

On the sixth Christmas after the time travel in Cleveland, Hathaway and Swift remained in Cleveland, and Tang Tian had already boarded the next morning flight back to Oklahoma City.

The Thunder's Christmas game is at home, and their opponent is the Miami Heat.

The current record of the Heat is 2 games less than that of the Thunder, but that is more due to the running-in at the beginning of the season. With the complete running-in, they have just played a wave of 10 consecutive victories, the longest in the league. The focus of the battle, they are naturally bound to win.

The hot match between the two champions naturally attracted the attention of all fans in the league.

And apart from the two teams themselves, the reunion between James and Tang Tian was also the focus of everyone's attention.

James returned to the Heat, Revenge Knight was originally the best script, but Tang Tian's Journey to the West changed the target. Now he needs the target of revenge, so it naturally becomes Thunder.